The Mexico vs Martinique match will be played on Sunday, July 14, 2013 (3:00 PM Pacific) at the Sports Authority Field in Denver. Both teams have defeated Canada, and both lost to Panama. The winner of this match will qualify to the quarterfinals, if Mexico were to draw, both Martinique and El Tri would move on the the quarterfinals. Nonetheless, Mexico is (on paper at least) a huge favorite over the Caribbean squad.
[divider]Update[/divider]
Update: Click here to view the Mexico 3-1 Martinique highlights.
[divider] [/divider]
Of course, with Chepo de la Torre as Mexico’s head coach, we have learned to expect the unexpected from El Tri. Mexico started off its Gold Cup with a historic 2-1 loss against Panama; Mexico was simply awful in the match, and deserved to lose.
Mexico slightly improved when it defeated Canada 2-0 last Thursday. Mexico dominated possession (once again, at least Chepo’s got that part of the equation down), but failed to create any real scoring opportunities. The two goals came off a corner kick, and a penalty kick that was a dubious call at best. Overall, I would give Mexico a D+ for its effort in the match against Canada.
Now, Mexico will face a Martinique squad that will likely play better than Canada did. Martinique started off the Gold Cup with a surprising 1-0 win over Canada, in a match where they were the superior team. Against Panama, Martinique played without fear, and only lost 1-0 due to a late penalty called against them (the ref had earlier missed two penalty calls in Martinique’s favor).
Martinique knows that a draw will be enough to move on to the quarterfinals, and probably feels that it is capable of pulling off that result, due to Mexico’s current woeful state. Will Chepo’s Mexico choke under the pressure, or will El Tri earn another win on the way to the quarterfinals?
Mexico vs Martinique Prediction
The Mexico vs Martinique match will be tighter than the obvious differences in roster levels might otherwise indicate. Martinique has only allowed 1 goal in 2 matches so far, and Mexico has been underwhelming so far in this Gold Cup. The game will be similar to what we have seen from Mexico all year long: El Tri will dominate possession but fail to create scoring opportunities. Martinique will focus on defending and hope to score on a counterattack
The Mexico vs Martinique match will end in a 2-0 victory for Mexico, which will officially seal a spot in the quarterfinals (likely as the second placed team in Group A). Mexico will win but it won’t be pretty. I predict that Martinique will run out of gas in the second half, and that’s when Mexico will strike.
Mexico vs Martinique Television
The Mexico vs Martinique match will be televised on Univision and Fox Soccer Channel this Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 3:00 PM Pacific.
Mexico vs Martinique Highlights
We will be updating the Mexico vs Martinique highlights as soon as the match ends, we will also include a full analysis. You can watch the Mexico vs Canada 2-0 goals for now.
